The Hawaiian artist, Kealoha Pa taught me how to paint on wood when I lived on Molokai. Born on Molokai, he had studied and developed his technique for creating batik effects on wood in the Philippines. Many years later I ran into him in California at art shows and was happy to see him.

Painting on wood is unforgiving because mistakes cannot be corrected, it’s similar to water colors that way. I liked these pieces, but threw many first attempts away. It was exciting to try, because experimenting and learning new things is always good. The few that survived are long gone, but I included these because the experience was wonderful. Thank you Kealoha for showing me the basics. I’m grateful beyond measure when artists share their hard-won techniques.

The medium is fabric dye as it stains any organic material. The colors become light fast by coating the finished piece with wood varnish, which brings up the grain in the wood. The dye travels, so I mixed it with a small amount of acrylic paint and used less water on the edges, let that dry then painted the interior with dye and water. It’s a little different than what Kealoha Pa showed me, but it’s fun to try if you’re inclined to experiment, there’s many ways to go about it.